Ed Alexander

Years ago, KUAC aired “The Radio Reader” where the host would read entire books a half-hour at a time. Once, the host tackled a book about Alaska, and whenever his eye and lips ran up against the town of Nenana or the Tanana River, something weirdly inflected reached our ears. The station was flooded by callers who wanted to register their indignation. If nothing else, that experience impressed on me that Alaskans are sensitive about our place names. And as guest producer John Perreault discovered, that sensitivity extends to Alaska’s First Peoples. John talks with Edward Alexander of the Gwich’in Council International about reclaiming Alaska Native place names.

Also on the show: Years ago I joined the Fairbanks North Star Borough Library Commission at the invitation of the library director Greg Hill. Although Greg is retired now, he continues to work with The Library Foundation and on the Guys and Gals Read program where men and women enter schools at lunchtime and read to students. The program’s aim is to instill a love of reading into the young. I talked with Greg about the program and the continued relevance of libraries in the age of “fake news.”

And, of course, Chris Lott and Katexic Clippings.

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